Jan Harbeck Quartet - The Sound the Rhythm (2019)

The charismatic Jan Harbeck's atmospheric game in the great swing tradition has many friends. He appears extremely stylish and as a musician who digs deep into his jazz and who knows the importance of presence. Only a few are able to blow so much soul into a jazz ballad like him. Thomas Michelsen wrote in Politiken: "We once had Ben Webster to awaken the soul. Today we have Jan Harbeck! ”And it is really strange that the 43-year-old saxophonist has not previously published a tribute to" Big Ben "who lived in Copenhagen for a number of years. It comes here.

“When I was young, I concentrated on what I was playing; now the music comes by itself; the sound and tone are the essence of me. It must be full-bodied and the feeling must be there. Webster was my first inspiration, and then Paul Gonsalves came. It's the tradition I love. It's about playing from the heart. It's a sound, a sound, a language, says Jan Harbeck.

The musicians on this album have been playing together since 2007, and the band has played with more than regular success around Europe. Henrik Gunde, the brilliant pianist, has been Harbeck's partner so many times that they have no figures on it. Together, Gunde and Harbeck received the prestigious Ben Webster Prize in 2018, and the prize concert's repertoire was largely the inspiration for collecting the music on this album. Four numbers are by Webster, relatively unknown but full of blues and swing. There is another Strayhorn number, Johnny Come Lately, the rest is Harbeck's own.

The two days in the studio also became the scene of a surprise, which often gives a session an extra kick. In this case, two drummers. Anders Holm recorded the first day, and Morten Ærø arrived to put his drums up the next day. And he then played on two tracks, and new colors spread. Jan zum Vohrde is also a guest at Webster / Hodges I’d Be There. “The fine Webster ballad brings a special color and quality to the harmonies between everything and tenor. Zum is a champion. ”The quiet bass figures of Eriksson are important to Harbeck. He is on the beat and gives ample space. "We love the generosity of the music, and I hope that the sensuous and evocative space is transcended from the plate to the listener".